The Hindu 18.02.2010
NDMC Budget focuses on Games projects
Staff Reporter
| Municipal Council unveils Rs.1,931.14-crore outlay for the coming financial year |
Plan to wrap up Games projects by August
Other thrust areas include education and health
NEW DELHI: Promising timely completion of all key Commonwealth Games-related projects and announcing several new initiatives in greenery management, New Delhi Municipal Council chairman Parimal Rai on Wednesday unveiled a Rs.1,931.14-crore Budget for the coming financial year.
Apart from focusing on upgradation of infrastructure for the Games, the other thrust areas in the Budget include education, health and e-governance solutions.
“Work on upgradation of Talkatora Stadium and Shivaji Stadium is progressing on schedule. We would be inaugurating the Talkatora Stadium on February 24 and handing over the Shivaji Stadium by May. Other Games-related works including street-scaping, Connaught Place re-development, road signboards, pavement improvement and street-lighting would also be completed in time,” Mr. Rai said.
“Through the Games we have been given the opportunity to beautify the city and make it shine and we will not disappoint. We plan to wrap up all our Games-related projects by August and use September for cleaning up,” he added.
Of the Rs.1,931.14-crore expenditure Budget estimated for 2010-11, the lion’s share would be spent on electricity (Rs.583.52 crore) followed by roads, public works and projects (Rs.425.49 crore), sanitation and health (Rs.221.70 crore) and education, sports and social services (Rs.214.14 crore) among others.
The NDMC is working to set up a geographic information system-based platform for all services while it will also start a web-based building plan approval system during the financial year. Under this, according to Mr. Rai, citizens can submit their building plans online and check the status of their applications as well. A new disaster management centre near Khan Market would also be made operational by 2011.
“In health services, a patient monitoring system is being installed in emergency departments and operation theatres while four new ambulances are being procured. A new dental clinic at Dharam Marg would also be made functional by April and construction of the new building of Charak Palika Hospital would begin in 2010-11. In the education sector, we would be opening more Navyug schools and introducing a new scheme, ‘Lakshya’, envisaging coaching facilities for Class XI and XII students to prepare them for competitive entrance exams like IIT,” he added.
Asked about the civic body’s water and power dues, Mr. Rai said the NDMC had launched an amnesty scheme for voluntary settlement and consumers who do not pay their dues by March 31 would have to face discontinuation of services. The NDMC is also planning a voluntary settlement scheme for licence-fee defaulters, he added.
About its policy on mobile phone towers, Mr. Rai said towers in schools and hospitals would be removed in accordance with the court order while the rest of the defaulters had been issued notices to pay up their dues.
